Maldives · September 2023
Maldives: A Liveaboard Through the Atolls
The Maldives is a place most people only ever see from a postcard. We saw it from the water, threading a chain of atolls on a liveaboard for two weeks, dropping into current-swept channels where manta rays wheel, whale sharks cruise, and sharks gather in the blue. It was the long-awaited trip of a lifetime, and it more than delivered.
Day by day
Days 1-3
Halfway around the world to paradise
Getting to the Maldives is its own adventure, a whirlwind of travel that ends with the most spectacular reward: a thousand turquoise atolls scattered across the Indian Ocean. We settled onto our liveaboard, our floating home for the next week and a half, and pointed toward the channels.
Days 4-11
Threading the atolls
This was the heart of it. Day after day we drifted the famous channels and cleaning stations, hovering as manta rays circled overhead, holding our breath as whale sharks slid past, and watching reef sharks patrol the current lines. Between dives there was nothing but open ocean, sun decks, and the easy rhythm of life at sea.
Days 12-14
Male and Banana Reef
Back near the capital we traded the open atolls for the bustle of Male, exploring the islands, the markets and the museum, and slipping in a dive at the legendary Banana Reef before the long journey home.
From the trip
Mantas, whale sharks, endless blue water and the gentle sway of a liveaboard under the stars. The Maldives is everything the postcards promise and a great deal more, especially with fins on.
Want to do this one yourself?
We run trips like this every year. See where we're headed next and grab a spot before the group fills up.